HISD asks parents and students to take magnet survey after postponing some changes

School staff discusses magnet options with parents at a school choice fair in September at Westbury High School.

School staff discusses magnet options with parents at a school choice fair in September at Westbury High School.

Photo: Houston ISD

HISD asks parents and students to take magnet survey after postponing some changes

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After postponing some drastic changes to Houston ISD's magnet programs, district officials now are asking parents and students to fill out a survey about school choice.

In a press release, Houston ISD officials said the survey is open to students or parents of students who attend a magnet program, do not attend a magnet program or who live within HISD but do not currently attend an HISD school

Houston ISD pioneered magnet programs in the 1970s as a creative fix to segregation after courts ruled it had failed to integrate after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

The district's magnet and school choice system is now the most robust in Texas but is often a touchy subject in the state's largest school district. Superintendent Richard Carranza backed off plans to cut large amounts of extra magnet funding in the spring of 2017 after receiving backlash from a vocal group of magnet parents and advocates.

In January, district officials proposed drastic changes to the system, including cutting funding, creating geographic choice quadrants, setting standardized practices for sun-setting low-interest programs and opening more programs in lower-income communities. The district postponed eliminating magnet programs on Feb. 26, and Mark Smith, chief student support officer, said the subject would not be revisited until next school year.

The district will still pursue some changes, such as eliminating what it calls double-funding for some programs. For example, schools get extra money per each student enrolled in their gifted/ talented and career/technical programs through the magnet office, and also get extra money through the current weighted per-unit-allocation funding system. The new system would eliminate one of those additional funding streams.

"We remain committed to magnet programs and school choice," said HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza. "We want to be sure that our programs are in line with the district's vision that every child, no matter where they live, has equitable opportunities and access to an effective, personalized education."

HISD also announced it would hold public meetings about magnet programs, which will be held between March 19 and end March 30. Specific meeting dates have not yet been announced.